Honda recalls nearly 1.7M vehicles in US due to steering issue, PH affected?

Steering gearbox issue in the US affects countless Honda and Acura vehicles

A massive recall is affecting nearly 1.7 million Honda vehicles in the US market due to a steering gearbox issue. It affects passenger cars, crossover SUVs, and even the brand's high-performance models.

The issue was caused by a faulty steering gearbox worm gear which was improperly manufactured. According to Honda, the worm gear can swell during use which reduces the thickness of the grease between the worm wheel and worm gear on the steering gearbox.

There's also the matter of the tension on the worm gear (AKA spring preload) which was set too high. This caused an increased sliding force between the components, further making steering difficult and harder to control. Customers with vehicles that are part of the recall will experience difficulty steering their car, requiring more effort which increases the risk of an accident or crash.

The US recall affects a total of 1,693,199 vehicles and includes various body styles of the 2022 – 2025 Civic, 2023 – 2025 Civic Type R, 2023 – 2025 CR-V, 2023 – 2025 HR-V, 2023 – 2025 Acura Integra, and the 2024 – 2025 Acura Integra Type S.

With Honda needing to recall nearly 1.7M vehicles in the US, does this mean the Philippine market is part of the recall? We contacted Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) regarding the issue and they shared with us that they have yet to receive word from headquarters if units sold in the country need to be recalled.

With that, we'll wait for the official word if units sold in the Philippines also have the faulty steering gearbox. However, this will not be the first time the automaker will have to initiate a recall related to a steering gearbox issue should they need to.

Earlier this year, HCPI recalled 1,025 units of the 2022 model year Civics due to a steering gearbox problem. No accidents were reported in the country due to the steering gearbox problem and the automaker was quick to rectify the issue. Moreover, the steering gearbox replacement was done free of charge to affected customers.